Morikawa working hard to regain form in Dubai

Collin Morikawa has his sights set on regaining form after setting the reset button ahead of the 2022 Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic.

The World Number Two, who won the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, admitted he had been working hard following his disappointment at finishing in a tie for 62nd at last weeks Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

Morikawa, who carded over par rounds during three out of four days at Yas Links, said he spent the entire of Monday working on his swing.

It involved lengthy discussion, and a lengthy session, on the range as he worked through things with his team.

“Spent all afternoon yesterday working," said Morikawa.

"It was probably the hardest, longest I've worked in a while pre tournament like on a Monday but it's good. Sometimes you need to have that kind of reset button and really figure out and dive deep. I had my agent and my caddie and we were just literally sitting on the range for hours trying to figure out what to do.

“We know what's not working. It's just trying to get back to my old swing, right, and trying to get back to what I know I can do. So I still have a couple things I've got to work out and feel, but I'm in a much better position right now, at least if I had to go play tomorrow or right now, versus where I was last week."

The American went on to elaborate that following on from a good result in Hawaii on the PGA Tour to start 2022, his game - and in particular his control over his ball - in Abu Dhabi just simply didn't feel good.

He further explained that it was a different feeling entirely to the one he had after a tie for 71st at the abrdn Scottish Open last year, which he famously followed with his second history-making Major victory at the Open Championship.

"Yeah, you know, the Scottish is weird because I felt like everything was actually really good. I had just blamed it on my clubs, which normally it's not the case, right, but I was thinking, you know, I made my iron switch, I made a little putter switch. So there were certain things there that the game felt good.

"Last week, the game didn't feel good. I didn't know where the golf ball was going and I had to kind of figure that out, so look, yesterday was much needed and I feel a lot better where I am heading into this Thursday."

The two-time Major winner has expressed a desire to constantly improve, and a big part of that is to do with resetting his mindset.

Moving on from last week is the first part of that, and Morikawa plans to do that by simply forgetting the bad, and drawing instead from remembering things he's done well in the past as he approaches his second appearance at Emirates Golf Club.

"What happened last week, I wasn't really in my head. I wasn't playing to my strengths. Obviously I had no clue the where ball was going out, which makes it a lot harder, but out here like you said, I now the golf course and I know where I need to hit it.

"And so at that point it's just going out and playing golf, executing the shots I know, talk to my caddie like we do all the time when we're playing really well and just stick to the same process.

"Yeah, you just forget about it. It's as simple as that really. It's not I need to sit in a bed or stare at a wall to try to figure out what I do. It's just in my nature, I want to get better. I am trying to figure out what I did poorly this week and try to work to get better this week. It's just that grind, right. At the end of last season, you take a month off and you find that passion and that itch to get back.

"Right, and that's what happens, when you have a bad week like that, you show up at a week like just this wanting to get; better, making sure I don't do the mistakes I did last week, and show up here and play the way I know I can play.

"It's just about remembering things I've done well in the past, and it's as simple as really forgetting about what happened. I can't do anything about what happened last week. It happened. I played bad. I learned from it. Last year, I have memories out here that I know I didn't play well, I know I didn't putt well and you just try to figure it out and play the best you can.

"I have things I need to work on. I'll get that done by Thursday and I'll be ready. It's just going out and playing the golf course the best I can."